Haunted
by TheCocaineDiaries
Summary: JacobNessie. "This isn't right. You're a child, and I'm 20 years old now. I can't kiss you."
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**_  
_

_"First love is a little foolish and a lot of curiosity." _

_- George Bernard Shaw._

One of Renesmee Cullen's last memories of what she considers "childhood" is the night of Jacob's 20th birthday. That night was one of the few occasions when her parents let her spend time with the man she had known since birth without their watchful eye.

"20 entire years…" Renesmee said from her seat next to Jacob. "That's a _long_ time."

"I used to say the same thing when I was a kid," he answered, unable to conceal the huge smile on his face.

Whether it was for the birthday party Renesmee's family had thrown him, or because she was next to him, she was not sure. "I'm not a kid," she argued, pursing her lips slightly. "I'm 12 years old."

Jacob looked at her amusedly. "You may _look_ 12 years old, Nessie," he said, "but you are very much still a kid on the inside."

Renesmee pouted, and her mother approached her. "Renesmee," she said, "The party's over now. It's time for you to go to bed."

"Wait…" Renesmee started, shaking her arm out of her mother's grasp. "I haven't given my present to Jacob yet."

Bella Cullen sighed before regarding the two sitting on the couch with a smile. "Okay. But make it quick!"

Renesmee grinned, and tugged at Jacob's wrist. "Come on. I want to show you something."

Jacob found himself unable to decline, and let himself be taken away from the Cullens' living room. He followed Renesmee down the stairs and into the basement. "What is it?" he asked her.

"Sit down," she told him.

He found a chair that wasn't as dusty and sat down on it, then looked to her expectantly. Renesmee approached him, their faces finally level. She held the side of Jacob's face with her tiny hands and leaned forward and kissed him. For a moment, Jacob let himself be kissed. Then he pulled away. He was surprised when he saw the coy expression on Renesmee's face.

"Nessie…" he began, "This isn't right. You're just a child, and I'm 20 years old now. I can't kiss you."

"But you want to," was her response.

Jacob stared at her for a moment. He looked lost. Then he stood up. "Come on. Your mom wants you to go to bed now." He led her back up the stairs.

The next time they met, Renesmee waved at him, and Jacob turned his back.

Thus the years passed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

"_First love is dangerous only when it is also the last."_

_Branislav Nusic_

Bella had been pleased when Renesmee had first requested that they go outside into the forest as a young child; she had picked up Bella's love for nature. She found it appropriate, since Bella had started appreciating nature when she fell in love, and she supposed Renesmee had already found her true love. It made sense.

"Mommy…" Renesmee whispered when they stepped outside. "What's happening?"

The usual overcast clouds were gone that day. Bella stared down at her pale arm for a moment; this was the first time she had ever seen herself sparkle. When she peered down at her daughter, she was puzzled to see that her skin was the same ivory color as it was in the shadows.

"Renesmee, listen to me," she said, kneeling down so that their faces were level. "You are a very special girl." The girl smiled. "Unfortunately, this means you are very different from everyone else. You won't be able to go to school, and you have to keep secrets from any friends you might meet. You are also different from us, your family."

Renesmee looked confused. Bella sighed and turned away.

"You see that bird bath over there, Renesmee?" she said. Her daughter turned to see what she was gazing at, and then nodded. "What color is the water?"

Renesmee paused before answering, "Blue."

"What color is the water in the creek behind our house?"

"Brown."

Bella nodded, then stood up. She took Renesmee's hand and led her back inside the house. They went into the kitchen and Bella turned on the sink. "What color is this?"

Renesmee regarded the water for a long time before answering, "Clear."

"Yes." Bella's face became serious again. "The water in the bird bath is blue because the bird bath is painted blue. The water in the creek is brown because the mud is brown. Water can change into any color. It reflects the color of its environment. Do you understand?"

Renesmee nodded, eyes glancing to the side, because she was truly not sure what her mother was talking about.

"You have to be like water. We both do."

Renesmee nodded again, more confused than ever.

---

"Happy birthday, Jacob!" Alice said as he walked through their door.

He smiled slightly. "It's not quite my birthday yet, Alice."

"You're coming over tomorrow, right?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Don't I always?" he grinned. "Tonight I'm celebrating in La Push, but I wanted to spend some time with Renesmee before that. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure. _Renesmee_!" she called up the stairs.

A moment later her neice appeared at the foot of the staircase. She saw Jacob and tied her hair up. She quickly said goodbye to her aunt and she and Jacob left the house. They automatically started toward the forest, where they usually spent time together.

"So…" Renesmee started. "It's your birthday tomorrow."

Jacob nodded. "Yep. 23 whole years. Isn't that _so_ old?" he winked at her.

Renesmee shook her head. "No, that's pretty young. If anything, _I'm_ the one getting old." She looked down to regard her womanly figure. "My growth spurts stopped and ended all last year."

"You're entire life is a growth spurt," he laughed. "When you're 23, you'll probably look 80."

Renesmee pursed her lips. "No way. Mom and Dad say my growth is coming to an end. I probably won't physically age any more than this." She swept her hands across herself.

"Perhaps."

They reached a tree stump and sat down on it. Jacob was suddenly nervous. The only times he was nervous around Renesmee were around his birthdays.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Renesmee's "gift" had been the same thing every year for three years now.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" she asked him.

Jacob wasn't sure how to answer her, so he shrugged. "I'm excited for tonight."

"And why's that?"

Jacob folded his arms behind his head and leaned back to rest on a tree trunk. "I'm glad I'll get to be on the reservation without having to patrol. Lately it's been too much work. That's why I've been visiting your family more often, to get a break."

"That's all? Not because you wanted to see me?"

Jacob turned to her. "Of course I wanted to see you," he chuckled. She seemed a little too pleased, so he added, "and your mom, and your dad, and Alice, and everyone else…"

---

Bella peered out the window of her bedroom to see Renesmee and Jacob's figures retreating into the forest.

"You certainly seem eager to let our daughter run off with Jacob," Edward remarked, looking up from his book. "You don't even mind when Alice lets her go without your permission."

Bella shrugged. "I've long since accepted the fact that they will be together. It's best for all of us if we just let it happen peacefully."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You say that like it is set in stone."

"It is."

"Jacob's feelings for her are set in stone, but nothing guarantees that she will feel the same way."

Bella looked away from the window to frown at her husband. "Have you _seen_ the two together? Renesmee clearly has feelings for him, and as much as it is hard for me to accept my daughter being with a man, what's done is done. The imprinting has already happened."

Edward looked down, as though to continue reading his book, but opened his mouth to say, "Pardon my rudeness, but you don't seem nearly as reluctant as you make yourself out to be."

Bella narrowed her eyes.

"Are you sure you aren't simply pushing our daughter to have the kind of fairytale romance you wish you could have had with me?" His voice was friendly, as though to compensate for his cold words.

Bella's face was like stone as she stared at him. Then she looked away, gazing out the window again.

---

"It is getting dark. I should bring you home now," Jacob said.

Renesmee nodded. "Okay." The two stood up from their seat and started back the way they came. They had been walking for several minutes in silence before Renesmee glanced up at Jacob and slipped her hand inside his. He looked down at her, but she was staring ahead once more. He didn't remove his hand from hers like he usually would have, and let it stay there, a pale coldness within his warm grasp. The two smiled a little to themselves and continued down the path quietly. When the Cullen house came into view, they stopped and turned toward each other.

"Bye, Jake."

"Bye, Nessie."

She grinned and stood on her tip toes to give Jacob a hug goodbye. As they embraced, she whispered into his ear, "_I hope you're excited for tomorrow_."

Jacob's eyes widened, but didn't say anything. They eventually separated and Renesmee walked the rest of the way to her house. Jacob watched her until she was out of sight, and then made his way to his car. He started driving until he stopped for the first red light. He absentmindedly searched his coat pockets for his house keys, but pulled out his hand immediately as if stung. There was a drop of blood on the pad of his finger, and he stuck it inside his mouth. With his other hand he reached into the pocket to pull out an unfamiliar slip of paper which has given him a paper cut. Curious, he opened it. Inside there were no words, but a glossy stain shaped like a pair of lips; Renesmee's lips.

Jacob stared at it for a moment, surprised. Then he made a U-turn and drove in the opposite direction.

When Renesmee had returned home, her aunt Rosalie and uncle Emmett and grandparents had returned from their hunting trip. They had left her a huge glass of fresh mountain lion's blood, which she eagerly poured down her throat. She soon felt satisfied, and retreated to her room for a rest. She had laid back on her bed, a hand on her stomach, when she heard the creak of steps on the staircase and a knock on her door. With a groan, she slowly got off the bed and opened the door.

"Jake?" she said. She quickly composed her face into a coy smile, looking up at the tall man from behind her bangs. "Did you get my note?" Jacob, who had been looking down, glanced up at her with emotional brown eyes. Renesmee smiled even more. "I didn't make you cry, now did I?"

Jacob didn't say anything, but continued to stare softly at her. They looked into each other's faces for a moment, unconsciously leaning forward toward each other. Suddenly, they kissed each other fiercely, Renesmee's arms winding around his shoulders, one hand in his hair, his hands grasping her hips. After a few minutes, Jacob suddenly reopened his eyes and stepped away. Renesmee noticed his quivering eyes; She hadn't _actually_ made him upset, had she?

He looked away, and slowly turned around and left the room, leaving Renesmee grinning behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two**

_In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love._

_- Alfred Lord Tennyson_

"Happy birthday, Jake!" several people yelled when he walked through the room.

His usually bright grin that he might have given them was replaced by a shy smile, Renesmee noted amusedly. She slowly approached him, and said, "Happy 23rd birthday," with a demure smile. He gazed down at her, and then she walked away and let him celebrate peacefully with her family. She sat with her aunt Rosalie on the couch quietly.

After Alice and Bella, the most enthusiastic of the bunch, had grown fatigued and settled down on the living room chairs, Jacob took the remaining seat next to Renesmee. They each continued their separate conversations for a moment, then, when everybody was talking loud enough for no one to notice, Renesmee leaned back and looked at Jacob. Seeing his tense posture and refusal to look at her, she sighed and then whispered, "I don't understand you, Jacob. What's the problem? I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a teenager on the inside, but my physical appearance forces me to merge with young adults, and so my maturity is beyond my years. You don't have to put yourself through this."

Jacob shook his head. "You just don't get it, Nessie."

Renesmee's delicate features pulled into a frown, and she turned away. Several minutes later, Jacob stood up; it was time for him to go. He hugged everyone goodbye politely and was out of the house. Renesmee made her way to the window and looked outside. She saw several wolves gathered just outside the forest. Jacob had turned into his wolf form and was approaching them. They regarded each other in what appeared to be friendliness and soon disappeared into the trees.

Bella put her hand on Renesmee's shoulder gently. "What are you looking at?" she asked.

It had started to rain, so Renesmee answered, "Water."

---

Bella had been unable to fall asleep since the day she became a vampire. It had been years since then, but she still wasn't used to it. Sleep had always been the one thing she could count on; the one thing that could truly relieve her of her pain during the day.

Edward had changed everything; He had slowly robbed her of her escape from the world, first by making her dream world a kind of hell when she was living, and then by sucking her blood and relieving her of the ability to sleep entirely.

She wondered if he ever missed sleep, but she guessed probably not. She realized that she was a lot more like her daughter than she realized; they were both caught between the world of the living and the dead.

---

Renesmee was the only person in her family who could sleep. She often heard her mother crying at night because she was unable to sleep. Renesmee feared that that would soon be her, when she was fully grown and her vampire senses were developed.

But at the moment, Renesmee was sleeping soundly.

She suddenly blinked open her topaz-colored eyes to the pitch-black room around her. She inhaled sharply when she felt someone's hand on her, and jumped away from the touch.

"Hey, take it easy," Jacob said.

Renesmee blinked until her night-vision kicked in and she could see the outline of Jacob's figure sitting on the edge of her bed. She continued to breathe quickly as the shock of seeing him slowly wore off.

Jacob took her hand in his gently, and her breathing eventually slowed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him quietly.

He shrugged. "Just visiting."

Renesmee raised her eyebrows at him but didn't question him. She glanced down at his hand on top of hers. "Are you bleeding?" she asked.

Jacob picked up his hand and looked at it curiously. His knuckle was bloody. "I was in wolf form before," he explained. "I guess I was careless."

Renesmee untangled herself from her bed sheets and crossed the room. She had become accustomed to Jacob walking around with cuts and bruises gone un-treated. She picked up a little box from on top of her dresser and returned to the bed. She sat down on her ankles and took his hand. He was used to the routine and went along with it.

"This is going to sting," she warned him as she dabbed the cut with anti-bacterial.

It did, as always, but his pride kept him from squeezing his eyes shut or clenching his hand in protest. He had known Renesmee since she was a baby but he somehow never let down his guard around her.

"We vampires never take out our aggression when we hunt or are in battle," she said.

"I suppose a vampire needs a clear head to be able to suck some poor animal's life out."

She playfully slapped him and unwrapped a band aid. "I think one of a vampire's greatest attributes is his self-control," she continued. "We are born through our creator's self-control and will not die as long as we maintain our own self-control."

Jacob didn't say anything and carefully watched her small, pale fingers place a pink band aid on his hand that stood out brightly against his tanned skin.

"Werewolves are created as a result of a vampire's lack of self-control," he said.

Renesmee nodded. "I suppose we're complete opposites."

She was tracing Jacob's knuckles with her finger, and he took her hand in his once more. "And that's why we're such a perfect balance."

They looked up at each other at that same moment and smiled, and they knew all was forgiven.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_"The magic of first love is the ignorance that it can never end."_

_- Benjamin Disraeli._

_--  
_

"Hey, Jacob," Bella greeted the man cheerfully when she opened the door. "You know, we really should give you a key to the house. Renesmee has been asking for you to stop by even more frequently these past few days."

Jacob smiled shyly at the mention of the girl and said, "That is actually why I'm here. I was wondering if I could interrupt Nessie's studies for a moment to go outside and play."

Bella smiled. "Actually, she's already done. She's taking a walk in the woods right now. You're free to go and find her."

Jacob nodded. "Sure, I think I'll do that." He narrowed his eyes and peered at Bella. "You know, you really should eat more. Or, drink blood, or whatever it is you people do for nourishment. You're looking a little peaked."

Bella blinked up at him in surprise. "That can't be possible. I've looked exactly the same since I was 19."

Jacob shrugged and grinned. "Not when you're sad. Anyways, I'm going to go and find Nessie. I'll drop her off here in a bit. Bye."

He turned around and walked back out the door, leaving Bella to stare after him for a moment before closing the door behind him.

Jacob jogged through the trees, heading down a zigzag path toward the creek. As he began to hear the running of water, he realized he could smell Renesmee, but chose to believe that he was able to find her because he knew all her favorite places in the woods. The last few trees cleared up and he could see her small shoulders and brunette head sitting by the creek.

She heard his presence and turned around. Her face was surprised but quickly warmed. "Jake!" she said.

"Hey," he greeted back, unable to keep the huge grin off his face. He approached her and sat down beside her, remembering to keep a certain amount of distance between them. "What're you doing?"

Renesmee shrugged. "I don't know. I got bored at home studying. Mom is boring."

Jacob snorted. "Such a nice daughter, you are."

"Hey, you don't know how weird it is, having a mother that looks the same age as you, except maybe even prettier."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "You know that's not true."

"Well, technically, I'm only half-vampire, and therefore, only half-beautiful."

"I don't know about that. I'm pretty gorgeous."

Renesmee laughed and grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry. You know what I mean. You're completely gorgeous."

She was surprised when Jacob let her hands stay on his arm, and didn't appear flustered at her compliment. She looked at him warily before shifting closer, testing him. He was looking away from her, but didn't protest at her closeness.

"Jacob, you seem different."

He swallowed. "So do you. Did you age an extra five years, as usual?"

Renesmee playfully nudged him. "No! I told you, I'm done growing. I'm going to look like this forever, so you better get used to it."

Jacob turned toward her. He let his eyes move down her body. "I think I can get used to it."

Renesmee was taken aback by his forwardness. She wasn't sure what to think about it, after witnessing his reluctance to show her affection for so long. She decided that she liked it, and inched even closer to him.

"Me too."

They decided not to look at each other and instead stared into the sloshing water of the creek. Renesmee frowned and remembered something her mother told her as a child. She watched how the brown of the water turned green as droplets fell on the grass beside her. She observed the drops and how they stayed green and then glanced at Jacob through the corner of her eye. She wondered if Jacob was like water, too.

"Hey, Jake. I never gave you a birthday present yesterday."

Jacob immediately tensed. He felt her eyes on him, but didn't turn around. "That's okay," he said vaguely.

Renesmee frowned at his reaction. She kept her eyes on him for a while before slowly turning her head back to stare at the creek. She glared at the water.

"I want to talk to my Mom," she said.

Jacob was surprised at her tone of voice and let himself turn to look at her. "What?" he asked. "Why?"

Renesmee hopped up onto her feet. "Don't worry about it," she replied, pursing her lips childishly.

Jacob saw her waiting, shuffling her feet uncomfortably, and stood up beside her. They started down the same path that Jacob followed Renesmee on to the creek. Jacob sensed her discomfort and took her hand. It reminded him of when he was younger and when she was much, much younger. He saw the Cullen mansion coming into view and felt like he needed to say something quickly.

"Nessie," he said when they were at the door. They faced each other and Jacob took her other hand in his. "Let's go out tonight."

Renesmee blinked up at him in surprise, having to lift her chin considerably to look into his face. "I'm not supposed to be out at night without my family," she admitted.

Jacob cocked an eyebrow. "And you're going to listen to them?"

Renesmee couldn't help but smile slightly. "Well… where do you want to go?"

Jacob grinned. "We can just get in my car… and go where ever."

Renesmee, for the first time, felt herself grow shy and looked down for a moment. She nodded. "Okay," she said, catching his eye again briefly and grinning.

Jacob let go of her hands and stepped away. He saw her wave at him, smiling, before unlocking the door and walking inside.

When she was inside, she saw her mother in the kitchen.

"Hi, sweetie," Bella said to her daughter. "Did you have fun with Jacob?"

Renesmee nodded. "Yeah, I did."

She walked into the kitchen and sat down while watching her mother sipping at the cool glass of blood in her hand. She didn't say anything until Bella noticed her silence and asked, "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Renesmee hesitated. "Um…" she started. She thought about her afternoon with Jacob and was confused. "No…" she finally answered. "No, that's okay."

Bella shrugged, smiled, and put the pitcher back in the fridge.


End file.
